The present invention relates to locks, wherein a key-operated barrel causes movement of a latch.
There have been provided in the prior art a number of locks which include an operating member with a rack, and guided for linear movement, a pinion which is in mesh with the rack of the actuating member, and a bolt having teeth which are also in mesh with the pinion, so that rectilinear movement of the operating member causes rotation of the pinion, which in turn causes rectilinear movement of the bolt. In a number of these disclosures, the actuating member and the bolt were at substantially right angles to each other.
Shaw U.S. Pat. No. 3,561,805 discloses a lock of the above type, having a key-operated barrel which is spring urged to the outer position. An eccentric peg extends axially from the barrel, and may be moved, upon rotation of the barrel, between positions in which it is in line or out of line with an actuating rack which is guided for linear movement. The rack is in mesh with a pinion, intermediate the ends thereof, and adjacent each end of the pinion is a gear. These gears are in mesh with a pair of spaced racks which extend from the bolt, and cause movement of it, the racks of the bolt being at right angles to the rack of the actuating member. In this construction, the racks of the actuating member and of the bolt lie in spaced apart, parallel planes, thereby resulting in a relatively thick construction. The housing is not adapted to a sandwich construction of relatively thin form, to encompass the internal mechanism of the lock, and in the construction provided, it is possible to damage the lock by pushing the key-operated barrel inwardly, and then rotating it, so as to strike an actuating screw which extends from the actuating rack on the side, rather than axially on the end, as intended.
Brinson U.S. Pat. No. 2,431,105 provides a lock construction which includes a pair of handles, in side by side relationship, one on one side of a door and the other on the other side. These handles are movable in parallel planes, and each has an extension with a rack, the racks being in mesh with a pinion. A bolt is provided, having a rack also in mesh with the pinion, the bolt lying in a plane between the planes of the racks of the handles. There is thereby provided a relatively thick lock, which is not key-operated, and which is not capable of utilizing a formed sandwich type housing construction. The handles are spring urged, and are thereby subject to failure if the spring breaks.
Blixt et al U.S. Pat. No. 1,251,467 discloses a lock having an actuating member in the form of a rack, a pair of pinions which are in mesh with the actuating rack at spaced points therealong, and a pair of bolts with racks, one in mesh with each of the pinions, the bolts being in a single plane which is spaced from and parallel to the plane of the actuating member, thereby providing a relatively thick construction. The housing provided is not and apparently can not be of a formed, thin construction.
Van Wetzinga et al U.S. Pat. No. 1,195,881 further discloses a lock in which an actuating member has a rack in engagement with a pinion, and the pinion is carried on a shaft, there being a further pair of pinions on either side of the central pinion. A bolt is provided having a forked end, each part of which is provided with a rack which is in mesh with one of the spaced apart pinions. Thus, the construction provided is relatively thick, and is not amenable to a thin, formed, sandwich type housing. Also, this latch is not key-operated.